MobileActive08 is the only global gathering that brings together practitioners, researchers, technologists, and donors interested in the use and application of mobile technology in support of social impact.

At MobileActive08 participants will explore how mobile phones are used to advance civil society work, assess the current state of knowledge in the use and effectiveness of mobile technology to advance social action, and investigate trends, needs and investment opportunities.

The event is intentionally designed to be cross-disciplinary as learnings and experiences span various disciplines in this emerging field. However, specific attention will be given to the role of mobile technology in health, human rights, economic development, advocacy, education, citizen journalism and democratic participation.

MobileActive08 is a partnership between MobileActive.org and SANGONeT, with support from the International Development Research Centre, Canada.

What are the goals of MobileActive08? 

• Assess current knowledge about the use of mobile technology for social impact;
• Disseminate and profile of mobile innovations;
• Conduct hands-on trainings in the use of mobile phones for social impact;
• Discuss best practices of mobile use in specific areas;
• Reduce redundancy and the learning and cost curve for NGOs;
• Examine cross-disciplinary issues affecting all areas of civil society;
• Explore key barriers to scaling projects;
• Develop training and learning resources beyond the conference;
• Facilitate Interaction and engagement between the different stakeholders;
• Develop communities of practice among researchers and practitioners using mobile technologies for social impact.

MobileActive08 is not a typical conference. While MobileActive08 will feature workshops and panels, the event is organized to maximize interaction amongst participants and accelerate and document learnings.

What are MobileActive08's guiding principles?

• Sessions are encouraged to be attractive to a broad audience, including small organizations, researchers, technology service providers, entrepreneurs, generalists and specialists from all levels, local to global;
• The design and style of the sessions are interactive and lively;
• The creative use of mobiles (and other applicable technologies) is encouraged in a hands-on fashion! 

MobileActive08 will include:

• Interaction: Highly interactive small workshops of practitioners, researchers, technologists, and donors.
• Innovation: A Social Innovation Marketplace - the SIMplace - and a hands-on lab, the SIMbox, where projects and tools are featured.
• Designed collaborations: There will be deliberate opportunities for exploring collaborations among practitioners from around the world who are using mobile phones in their social change work, as well as an explicit focus on developing communities of practice.
• Concrete deliverables: Documentation of case studies and best practices in mobiles for social change work around the world, produced in real time at the event.

 _{[ Photo credit:  Nathan Eagle, MIT/Eprom Project ]}